Looking Through Your Eyes
by pyroesque26
Summary: AU No Powers. Lance Alvers, the resident rebel. Kitty Pryde, the resident good samaritan but with a slightly tough exterior. What happens when these two unexpectedly collide after years of growing up in the same town? R&R.
1. Prologue

**Looking Through Your Eyes**

_A/N: This is an AU with most of the X-Men: Evolution characters sprinkled in. There may be some huge differences in personality and character, so don't flame me for that. I'm just trying to fit them into the story. This is set in Northbrook, Illinois. Mostly shown from Lance's point of view._

_Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men: Evolution. It belongs to Marvel and every other legal person who claims they own it._

_Prologue_

Eight-year-old Lance closed his eyes shut, hugging his pillow close to his person. He could hear his parents yelling. They had gotten increasingly worse over the years. Sometimes, they would just fight for the sake of fighting. This had broken Lance's young heart as he witnessed a happy family slowly crumbled into pieces. Even his baby sister, who was only a year younger than him, was catching on to the fact that something was wrong in their home.

"Lance?" Light filtered into the room.

The young boy hastily rubbed his face to prevent his sister from seeing the tearstains. As an older brother, it was his duty to be strong for her, and also to protect her.

"Hey, Tati, why aren't you in bed?" he asked, sitting up, the pillow set on his lap.

"When are mommy and daddy gonna stop fighting?" Tatiana asked. She had a sad frown on her face as she stood at the doorway, one hand on the doorknob.

The fact that Tatiana kept coming to his room during the nights when they were supposed to be in bed grew even more frequent. Just like their parents' fights.

"I dunno, Tati," he said.

"I can't sleep with all the yelling," she said, looking helpless under the light from the hallway. Her tanned skin looked pale.

"D'you wanna sleep with me tonight?" he asked, scooting to the side slightly.

"Okay," she said. She closed the door behind her and got into bed with her brother, clutching a teddy bear close to herself. "Lance?"

"Yeah, Tati?"

"I want things to go back to the way they were. I want mommy and daddy to stop fighting," she said sadly.

"Me too, Tati, me too," he said, his eyes on the last family photo of them happy.

Years passed by. When Lance was ten, his parents filed for divorce. Rick and Helen Alvers were required to separate for 365 days and see where things would go from there. But by the time he was eleven, things still hadn't changed. Their minds were made up, and by the end of June, he was living with his father and his girlfriend, whom he had met during the separation, while Tatiana went with his mother.

His father's girlfriend soon became his step-mom when Lance was thirteen. And for a while, he thought he could stand her. But after a while, it just became downright annoying. She was trying so hard to make him like her that it was almost pathetic. Lance looked for every opportunity to be out of the house.

Meanwhile, his close relationship with his sister pretty much crumbled after his mother decided to move back to her parents in a suburbia area of Northbrook. They used to see each other all the time but now it was reduced to a couple of times every few months, not counting the times he saw her in grade school and middle school. There were times when he would go down to visit, but other than that, nothing. His sister was having a great life with their mom and step-dad Jeff Jenson. She was pretty much oblivious to the hidden torment that Lance was living in as she continued to be a cheerful, happy, bouncy person who was also on the cheerleading squad.

In high school, he was pretty much the popular bad boy with a well-off background. A very rare combination, he mused once. He had everything he ever wanted thanks to his father's business. And because of that, he obeyed his father's wishes. Except for one thing: basketball. He couldn't understand his father's fixation with the game.

His rivalry with schoolmate Scott Summers considerably worsened over the years especially after he started pining away for Lance's long-term girlfriend, Marie Darkholme, best friend of the head cheerleader, Jean Grey. At first, their rivalry was based on playground innocence back when they were ten. At Northbrook Grade School, there was a tradition every year that their fellow students would vote on who would be king of the playground. It was all about the popularity and the privileges that came with their parents' name, both very recognized names in Northbrook.

Then there was Katherine Pryde, Scott Summer's best friend, who just also happened to be the smartest girl in school. But by being Scott Summers' best friend, she too ended up at the bottom.

Other than that, he had another half-sibling on the way. His three-year-old half brother was an annoying little puking monster. Lance was forced to baby sit him on a fairly regular basis. He did manage to slip out of babysitting duties a few times. But other than that, it was a no-go. Marie was a huge help of course. She came by every time and just seemed to be a natural with kids.

By sophomore year, Lance Alvers knew one thing: his life was almost perfect, if only he could have his family back. But if he had known that his life would spiral out of control for the rest of his junior year, he would have done anything in his power to stop it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Looking Through Your Eyes**

Chapter 1

"Lance!"

Lance groaned. Allison, his stepmother, was calling him. Blonde, tall, young (she was about ten years older than him, making her 27), annoying, a complete airhead and CEO at Home Decorators. Somehow, for some reason, his father fell in love with her. His mother was the opposite of this stepmom from hell. And in his opinion, much better. Well, of course you would think about that when it was your mother.

"What!" he yelled back. He'd almost made it this time. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder and his jeep keys in one hand.

"I need you to pick Benny up from my work place later, alright?" she said, coming into the hallway carrying a sandy blonde three-year-old baby. It was his half-brother Benedict.

"Fine," he grumbled. Before she could say another word, he had walked out of the house.

He got into his green jeep and drove over to Marie's house. He stopped at the driveway and honked. At 8.15, she was already set for school.

"Bye, mom!" she said, jogging down to the jeep. Her mother, Raven Darkholme, was a widow and was completely strict. It was a wonder how his relationship with Marie lasted this long.

"Hey," Lance said, smiling. He leaned over to kiss her.

"Hey," she said back. "How's the stepmom from hell?"

"Two words. Babysitting Benny," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Lance. Ben's a really sweet kid. You just don't take the time to get to know him."

"How the hell am I supposed to get to know him? The kid's three," he said.

"You'll learn to love him. I know you will," Marie said, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Lance just rolled his eyes as they pulled into the school. Students were also arriving in cars that their parents bought, the school bus and bikes. As he pulled the key out of the ignition, he scowled when he saw Summers and Pryde walking into the school, laughing like carefree students. Well, they were.

"I don't understand why you hate him so much, Lance," Marie said, when she followed his eyesight.

Lance just frowned at her. "And I don't understand why you keep defending him," he sneered.

Marie sighed. "Okay, one moment you're a real sweetheart, but the next, you're a complete asshole," she snapped, walking away from him.

"Marie!" he yelled after her. "Ugh!" he said in frustration, kicking one of his jeep tyres.

He and Marie had been facing some communication problems after they found out Summers liked her. There were moments when they would just lose their over heads something completely small. As small as Summers giving her a glance in the hallway.

He went through the day trying to get Marie to talk to him. He was met with silence.

"Marie, come on, I'm sorry," he said after school. They were both at her locker. "Can we at least talk about it?"

"Talk about what, Lance?" she said, pulling her pompoms out of her locker. She slammed her locker shut and turned around to look at him. "That we've been having problems since you found out Scott Summers liked me? I told you three months ago, Lance, that I'm loyal to you. I'm not going to run off with him behind your back, okay? Don't worry." She hugged him, and Lance was relieved that she wasn't that mad at him anymore. "I have to get to practice."

"Couldn't you just skip it?" he asked into her hair.

"No. Jean would throw a hissy fit if I did. Best friend and second-in-command, remember?" she said. She pulled away from him. "'Sides, you have to pick Benny up from Home Decorators."

"Please don't remind me of my little half-brother, please," he groaned.

"Tell you what. You pick him up and come back here, alright?" she said. She kissed him. "I have to go. See ya later, alright, babe?"

"Sure," he said, giving her a little wave as she headed towards the gym.

He dragged his feet to the jeep. He could remember when he and Marie had first gotten together about a year ago. It had all been about paying attention to his hormones. She was very pretty, with auburn coloured hair and green eyes. She had the figure and was also popular. But over time, he had grown to care about her. Even if most of the time their relationship was based on purely physical reasons.

Lance drove through Northbrook to get to the Home Decorators office. It was, coincidentally, right across from the café that Pryde worked at and just also happened to be owned by Summers' mother. He gave a glance at the café before entering the Home Decorators building.

"Yeah, hey-" he started when he reached the secretary's desk.

"Inside," she stated. He'd been there so much that they knew him face quite well.

"Right," he said and just went into his stepmother's office. Benedict was crying and screaming. Allison was on the phone while simultaneously trying to calm him down.

"Oh, Lance, thank goodness you're here," she said, carrying the wailing baby to him. "His stuff is over in the corner. I have to get back to this call. Thanks for the help, Lance."

"Yeah," he said, holding Benedict at arm's length. As he walked out of the building, "Yeah, yeah, shut up, you little monster." With much difficulty, he managed to strap Benedict into his car-seat. Rummaging through his bag, he pulled out a bottle filled with apple juice. "Here you go, Benny," he said softly.

Benedict's crying lessened slightly. "Tank you, Lance," he giggled and took the bottle from him.

_Marie's right. He can be a angel_, he thought to himself as he got into the driver's seat. He felt himself soften considerably.

"How about we go and see Marie, alright, Benny?"

"Mawie! Mawie! Mawie!" Benedict chanted.

"You like her, don't you boy?" Lance said as he drove back to the school.

"Mawie's weally nice, and weally pwetty," Benedict said, his eyes wide before giggling. Lance laughed and reached over to ruffle his hair. "Hey!"

He just shook his head as he pulled into the school. They went straight to the field where sure enough, the cheerleading squad was doing their routine. Benedict cheered when he saw Marie doing a backflip in the air.

"Go, Mawie!" Benedict cheered.

Marie apparently heard him and gave a smile and a wave to the little boy. When she noticed Lance sitting next to him on the bleachers, she waved at him too. He waved back, a smile on his face.

As practice continued with Benedict still cheering Marie on, he caught sight of a familiar mahogany-coloured hair on the other side of the field. He narrowed his eyes at him. Scott Summers had a lot of nerve, coming to his girlfriend's practice. Why wasn't he at his mother's café anyway?

"Hey, Benny, I'm gonna go over there for a second, alright?" Lance said. "Stay here."

"Okay, Lance!" Benedict said before continuing his chanting.

Lance quickly left the stands and walked over to where Summers was. He was leaning casually against the fence that surrounded the field, one hand in his pocket while the other holding _To Kill a Mockingbird. _Occasionally, he would glance up and look at Marie and just make it seem as though he was looking at the other cheerleaders. But Lance knew he wasn't. His main focus was on Marie.

"Hey, Summers!" Lance said, walking up to him.

"Yeah?" Summers said.

"You watching my girl?" he asked, standing right in front of him.

"What are you talking about? I'm here waiting for Kitty to finish up practice."

"A likely story. You know, the whole school knows you're after Marie. But know what, Summers? You can't have her," Lance said, narrowing his eyes at him, his hands clenching into fists.

He took notice of the way Summers tensed up, his hands snapping his book shut as he regarded Lance with cold eyes.

"Everyone knows you fantasize about her. And when someone told me that you were in love, well, maybe not _in _love, with _my _girlfriend, me and her have been facing some problems. Nothing we can't handle of course. Thanks to you, though, she's always on my case. And you know what? I want you to fuck off, and leave us alone. Go to that Katy Pryde, or whatever her name is," he continued.

Just when he thought Summers was going to retaliate, he was met with a punch to the jaw.

"That is it, Summers!" Lance said, angered. He gave the other boy a punch in the cheek, causing him to stagger back slightly.

"That the best you've got, Alvers?" Summers taunted.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Lance said, shoving him back. He was about to throw another punch when someone came in between them.

"Knock it off, Lance!" Marie said, holding onto his fist as she attempted to push him away from the other.

"Scott, what on earth has gotten into you?" Pryde asked, punching him in the shoulder.

Jean and the rest of the squad were torn between letting two of their members deal with their boyfriend and best friend or continuing practice. Benedict was holding onto her hand.

"Um, alright, everyone, good practice! We'll meet back here again tomorrow, alright?" Jean said to everyone, plastering a fake smile on her face. The squad just shrugged as they left, picking up their bags and heading to their cars.

"Here's Benedict," Jean said, passing the little boy's hand to Lance's. She stood there for a moment, her eyes lingering on Summers' a second too long. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright, Marie?"

"Sure, see ya tomorrow," she said, turning to face the redhead before fixing her green eyes on Lance's once more. "Come on. Let's just go home," she said, snatching her bag up and walking away.

"Is Mawie mad at you, Lance?" Benedict asked.

Lance picked the toddler up. He gave Summers and Pryde one last sneer before walking away. When he reached his jeep, it was to find Marie sitting at the back seat, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at Lance the entire time. He strapped Benedict into his seat and got into the driver's seat, glancing at Marie from the rear-view mirror. She now resorted to scowling at him.

_Oh, boy…_

When he pulled over into his driveway, Marie had immediately jumped out of the back. She was currently unbuckling Benedict from his seat without once looking up at her boyfriend. Lance found this incredibly irritating.

"Go inside, Benny, I need to have a talk with Lance, okay?" she said to the little boy softly. Allison's car was already in the driveway.

"Alright, Mawie. Bye bye!" he said, running into the house.

"Now, as for you," Marie said. "What did I tell you this afternoon? I told you that I'm not going to run off with him! I saw you start that fight with him, Lance. I'm not blind!"

"Well he shouldn't have been there in the first place!" Lance retaliated, slamming the door shut.

"He was only waiting for Kitty and the rest of us to finish practice, Lance."

"So he was there the entire time!"

"Yes, and he was waiting for his best friend to finish up practice so they can drive back to the café!"

"What, and during that short time I wasn't there were you talking to him?"

"As a matter of fact, I was," Marie snarled.

Lance glared at her. "You like him, don't you?" he spat, his anger getting the best of him. "You want him just as much as he wants you."

"Drop it, Lance. We were just talking. As friends," she said.

"Oh, yeah? Prove it."

"You know what, Lance? If you can't learn to trust me, then maybe we shouldn't be together," she said. A flash of sadness crossed her face before she turned around and headed towards her house.

"Fine! Go to Summers!" Lance told her angrily. He stalked back into his house but stopped at the doorway. With one hand on the doorknob, he turned around halfway, feeling guilt, remorse and sadness as he watched her walk away from him.

"Lance?"

"Fuck off," he muttered as he thundered up the stairs.

"Language, young man!" Allison called after him as Benedict tilted his head in confusion. No doubt he was wondering where Marie had gone.

"You're not my mother!" he yelled back. She was going to retaliate once more when she was met, however, with a loud slam.

Lance threw his backpack into a corner. He picked up a picture of him and Marie together and scowled at it. He threw it across the room, the frame and glass shattering.

He sat on the bed and thought for a while. The seeming break up did upset him. But not as much as he would expect. Yes, he did care for her. But did he love her? He wasn't sure. At one point or another, she had showed him that she loved him, and he to her. But maybe it wasn't enough. They had been close to splitting up a million times but it had never happened. If he was lucky, maybe the statement that sounded like a break up was only just anger. Hopefully.

Groaning in frustration, he grabbed his bag and took out his notebook, accidentally pulling out his Geometry test. Another F. He groaned once more. He could remember every single word his teacher had said earlier in the day.

"_Alvers, see me after class," Mrs Hornberry said. Lance just noticed that he hadn't received his test paper back. That was bad, real bad. The bell soon sounded and he made his way to the front of the class, fearing the worst. "Another F, Alvers. What am I supposed to do with you?"_

_Lance didn't answer her._

"_No matter. If you fail the next test, I will be forced to assign you a tutor. You have a lot of potential, Mr Alvers. I can see that. But you're always busying yourself with your clique or Marie, who, I must say, is also very bright. Now, I'm not telling you that you should drop them to improve your studies, even though that would probably be for the bestr. Just try to put more effort into your work. There will be another test tomorrow. Good day, Mr Alvers."_

A tutor. A frickin' tutor. The last thing he needed and wanted was a geeky tutor with a high-pitched voice, spots and glasses. As much as he didn't want a tutor, and as much as he didn't want to study, if he failed, he didn't have a choice.

Just when he was about to open his Geometry book, he decided to try and call Marie. It was a pathetic attempt at trying to dodge studying.

He dialled her home number and listened to it ring. Marie was usually home alone since Raven Darkholme was always travelling. Today was one of the rare days when she would be at home.

It continued to ring then finally, "_Hi! You've reached the Darkholme household. Obviously we're not home. Hopefully you'll know what to do with the beep._"

"Marie? It's Lance. Marie, I know you're home. Just pick up, alright? I'm sorry about what I said. Please. I know I've been a jerk and a huge pain in the ass lately. Just – I'm sorry alright? Anyway, if you get this message, and you'll probably delete this but whatever, come by for dinner, okay? Benny misses you. So, uh – yeah, bye."

"Lance! Dinner!"

Reluctantly, he went down. When he passed by the living room, though, he stopped. Marie was on the floor playing with Benedict. They were in the middle of building the Eiffel tower using Lance's old Lego set.

"Done!" Benedict said happily.

"It sure is," Marie said, pinching his nose.

Benedict smiled at her and turned to the doorway. "Lance! Look, Lance! Me and Mawie built the Eiffel Tower using Legos!" he said excitedly.

"Yeah," he said, nodding at the toddler. "Um, Ben, listen, you go into the kitchen, alright? I wanna talk to Marie for a while."

"Okay! I'll save you a seat, Mawie!" Benedict said before skipping off.

"Uh, I know it has only been a couple of hours, but uh, hey," Lance said.

"Hey," Marie said back, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "I – uh – sort of came back."

"I noticed," Lance said. He wanted to be indifferent to her. He couldn't do it. "Look, Marie, I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"No, Lance, it's okay. You had every right. I just wasn't feeling myself. Forgive me?" Marie asked.

"Of course," he said. He hugged her and kissed her lightly. "Besides, who else is gonna help control Benny the Monster?"

"Lance!" Marie admonished, smacking his arm. She rolled his eyes. "Come on," she took his hand, "Let's go to dinner."

_A/N: It's a bit messed up and I'm so sorry for that. I know Rogue really seems out of character. But like I said, there's a lot of character and personality changes. But I will be bringing Goth-Rogue in. The whole I'm-your-typical-sweetheart is pretty much just a façade. Or something like it. Don't hate me for that._


	3. Chapter 2

**Looking Through Your Eyes**

Chapter 2

Lance woke up the next morning to find Marie wearing nothing but his shirt and looking over his messy table top. Leaning over the bed, he searched for his boxers. He pulled them on and walked over to her.

"Morning," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her.

"Morning," she said back. "Another F, Lance? What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Nothing. Hornberry already threatened me with a tutor if I flunked the next test. Which is today, by the way," he added.

"Today?" Marie exclaimed, turning around in the seat. "If I'd known you'd have a test today, I wouldn't have allowed you to keep yourself up doing a total and completely useless thing!"

"Hey, it wasn't completely useless," he said, frowning slightly.

"Not the point," she said. "What're you going to do about the test?"

Lance just shrugged. "If I fail, I fail and in the process, get a tutor who'll suck the fun out of everything. If I pass, I don't get a tutor who'll suck the fun out of everything."

Marie just shook her head at his lack of focus. "I'm gonna go, okay? My mom is probably looking for me, if she hasn't already left. She's going away to Mississippi today. "

"Alright. I'll pick you up later," he said, giving her a deep kiss. "See you."

"Actually, you don't have to pick me up. I'll see you in school," she said. She pulled on her pants, her denim jacket, house keys and bounded out the door.

Lance stared at the closed door before heading towards his toilet to take a shower. When he was done, he quickly shoved his books into his bag. Taking a quick self-made breakfast before Allison could come down with Benedict, he left the house. He had a couple of minutes left before the first bell. As he walked to his locker, he saw Summers and Pryde with scowls on their faces. Summers had a bruise on his cheek from yesterday. Rolling his eyes, he went to English.

Lunch came and Lance was sitting at his usual table with Pietro Maximoff, Fred Dukes and Todd Tolansky with Marie, Jean Grey and Pietro's twin sister, Wanda. They were laughing at what Todd was saying when Summers appeared at the table.

"Yes?" Lance said, lazily holding a can of soda as he raised his eyes to look at him. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Scott?" Pryde asked.

"Stay out of this, Kitty," Summers said. "I'm extending a challenge to you, Alvers."

Lance's eyebrows furrowed and a frown marked his features. "Name your game, Summers."

"A basketball game. First one to get seven basket wins," he said.

"Hmm, should be a piece of cake," Lance said. "And what'll I get if I win, which, of course I will."

"Don't be so sure of that, Alvers. Remember who's point guard on the varsity team."

"Like I said, what will I get if I win?"

"My spot on the basketball team. I've already talked it out with Coach Howlett."

"Forget it, Summers," Lance said. "I could win that challenge with my hands tied behind my back. The only reason why I dropped out of try outs was 'cause I felt sorry for you. Come back to me when you can come up with a _real _challenge."

Summers narrowed his eyes at him and stalked off. Pryde just shot them a look as she went after him. Lance turned back to the people at the table.

"Unbelievable," Marie spat, stalking off.

"Marie!" Jean said, hurrying after her.

"What's her problem?" Lance asked the others.

"Maybe you should ask that yourself, man," Todd said.

As he watched her stalk off, he muttered what she had said earlier, "Unbelievable."

Lance was putting his morning session books back into his locker and was proceeding to pull out his afternoon session books when Summers once more appeared, this time without Pryde.

"Was there something you wanted?" he asked, repeating his earlier question, without even raising his face to look at the other boy.

"Midnight tonight. The old playground. We fight it out," Summers said.

"Look, man, I don't know why you're doing this. And frankly, I don't exactly care. 'Cause you know why? It's stupid. Sure, I pick fights all the time. But it's who I am. But that's not you, Summers."

"Winner gets Marie."

Lance felt his contort in anger. "I already have her. And if you lose?"

"I leave you and her alone, for real this time. For the rest of high school," he said.

Lance stared at his almost-empty locker. His eyes darted towards a picture of him and Marie together. They looked happy. And maybe they were. One thing he knew for sure, he wasn't going to lose Marie to that bastard.

"Fine," he said. "Not a word to Marie, you hear me, Summers? I'm warning you." He slammed his locker shut and stalked off towards his Geometry class.

"Hey, superstar!"

It was after school. Lance was sure he was going to get a tutor at the rate he was going. He turned around and found Jean Grey hurrying up to him.

"What is it? And don't call me 'superstar'."

She ignored his request. "I heard you and Scott are fighting tonight. Is it true?" Jean asked, already in her cheerleading uniform. Lance just ignored her. "It's all over school. Even Marie's heard about it. She doesn't want you to fight him tonight."

"She has?"

"Yeah. And I know she's pretty pissed at you at the moment but you really, really shouldn't fight Scott tonight. She still cares about you despite the fact that you keep biting her head off," Jean continued.

"Look, just tell Marie to stay out of it." Lance turned to walk away when he heard her speak.

"Our whole year is going to be there."

Lance stopped for a moment, muttering, "That bastard" before continuing to his car. He threw his bag into his jeep. When he got into the driver's seat, he spied Marie putting her stuff into her black mustang convertible. He attempted a smile but she just rolled her eyes and walked away, meeting with another member of the squad – Jubilee, was it? – and walked towards the field without a look back.

* * *

"Scott, I really don't think this is a good idea," Kitty said as she bustled around the café with him following her around later that evening. "And I'd, like, really appreciate it if you didn't follow me around. What if I dropped one of your mom's glasses?"

"You're way uptight about this, Kitty," he said. "And I thought I was supposed to be the one who was uptight? 'Sides, he accepted the challenge."

"Tell me this, Scott, how is it a challenge if you're fighting with your fists?" Kitty said as she went to the back room. She didn't give him a chance to answer. "You do realize you could get arrested for that right? And besides, what would you get out of it?"

"Marie," he mumbled.

In shock, Kitty nearly dropped the tray she was holding. "Okay, I know you were obsessed with her, but did I just hear you correctly? That if you won, you'd get Marie?"

"And Alvers' spotlight," he said.

"That's just stupid. Marie isn't a prize to be won," Kitty said, as she tucked her bangs behind her ear.

"I'd really appreciate it if you were there to support me, Kit," Scott said, leaning against the counter, watching her. "We've been supporting each other for loads of things before. Some even more stupid than this."

"I still think this whole thing is stupid," she said, not meeting his eyes. But Scott could tell, with the change of her posture, that she was going to be there for him.

* * *

"Marie! Oh, God, geez," Lance said in surprise when he walked into his room after dinner. "How long have you been here?" 

"Long enough," she said. She was sitting on his bed, her arms crossed over the black shirt she was wearing. "I heard about the fight with Scott Summers you're planning on having in four hours."

"Yeah, so?"

"After yesterday, Lance? Do you want a repeat of that?"

"Look, he wouldn't stop bothering me about some stupid challenge or other. I finally accepted this one," he said.

"Oh, and what's that? A fight using only your fists? Fistfights can only get you so far, Lance. And if you're not lucky, you could actually get paralysed."

"Look, Summers a wuss."

"Lance, I don't want you to go."

"I've got no choice, Marie. He made an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Oh, yeah? And what was that?"

"You. And my position in the popularity ranks," he said.

Marie just stared at him in disbelief as he walked into the bathroom without a look back.

* * *

"Hey, Al. Um, is Lance here?" 

"Tatiana. It's been a long time. Sure, come in. I think he's upstairs in his room," Allison said.

"Thanks," Tatiana said. Like her older brother, she didn't like her father's new wife. The long-haired brunette walked in and felt something tackle her knees. "Hey, there Benny."

"Tati!" Benedict said happily.

"Hey, you," she said, picking him up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She spotted Marie coming down the stairs. "Darkholme, is my brother upstairs?"

Marie and Tatiana didn't get along much. In fact, they were hardly friends, despite the fact that they've been on the same squad for two years running now.

"He's in the shower," Marie said shortly. "Hey, Ben." She ruffled his hair. "Um, Mrs, Alvers, I'm gonna go now, okay?"

"Oh, sure, dear. Thanks for stopping by," Allison said.

Tatiana rolled her eyes behind the pair. She quickly went up the stairs, still carrying Benedict, singing for him.

"You know, I really don't see the point of taking a shower if you're gonna get dirty later anyway," she commented when she saw Lance coming out of the bathroom.

"Tati! Wait, what're you doing here?"

"To stop you from fighting Scott Summers tonight," she said simply. She put Benedict down. "Go downstairs to your mom, Ben. I need to have a talk with your brother."

"Okay!" Benedict said innocently as he went down the stairs, mindful to not trip and fall.

"Look, Tat, I got the talk from Marie already. I don't need it from you, too," he said, running a towel through his wet hair. "Why're you defending him anyway?"

Tatiana rolled his eyes. "Unless you've forgotten, I'm going out with his little brother."

"Oh, yeah," Lance scowled. "Remind me to give him a piece of my mind after I finish with his brother."

"Lance!"

"What, Tat? You know as well as the whole school knows that I don't like the Summers boys. Nor do I like his dad," Lance said.

"You have to give them a chance, Lance. Alex and Scott are really sweet if you just get to know them better."

"Like I wanna be chummy with the guy who wants my girlfriend."

"I heard about that too from Alex. He says the winner gets Marie. Does she know?"

"Oh, Marie knows alright. This fight doesn't matter anyway. She's gonna dump me for wagering her off in a fight," he said.

"And you don't care?"

Lance shrugged. "Don't know why I should."

"Does dad or Allison know about this? Does mom know about it?" Tatiana asked, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're not telling them, Tat," he said sternly.

"Why shouldn't I? You know, mom would be so disappointed in you if she ever finds out that you're going through with this," she said.

"And you better not open your big trap, then," he said. "Now get out of my room. I need to get ready."

And with that, he slammed the door in her face, with her looking indignant at it.

* * *

"Scott, I still think this is stupid," Kitty said at a half hour to midnight. They were at Scott's house in his room with Alex. 

"Whether you lose or not, bro, I'm still behind you one hundred per cent," Alex said which caused Kitty to glare at him.

"Don't encourage him, Alex!" Kitty snapped.

"Hey, look, Tatiana's going over to his house to make sure he chickens out of it, anyway," Alex said.

"She what!"

"But you know him. Just as stubborn as you are, bro. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two had a lot more in common than you know," Alex commented.

"Don't," Scott said angrily, "say that. Me and him are nothing alike."

Kitty and Alex exchanged sceptical glances at each other.

* * *

"And just where do you think you're going?" Rick asked. He had caught Lance trying to sneak out of the house as he was working in his office. 

"Out," Lance said shortly, putting on his shoes.

"Where?"

"You know what, dad? Stop trying to be Mister Dad to me, alright? You stopped doing that when you divorced mom," he said.

"It wasn't my fault that your mother and I just fell out, Lance," Rick said.

"Oh, and how about Allison? She just happened to be there when you and mom started having problems?" Lance asked angrily. "I know you and Allison were having sex before the divorce became final. And I know that she was two months pregnant just before the wedding but had a miscarriage when she got into that accident five months later."

"You could try giving her and Benedict a chance, you know," Rick said wearily.

"I'll give Ben a chance and that's only 'cause he's a kid and doesn't know that I hate his mom," Lance said, grabbing his keys and headed for the door.

"Lance, if you walk out that door-"

"Forget it, dad," Lance said, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"I thought you said this whole thing was stupid?" Lance asked as he saw Marie leaning against a tree with Jean by her side. 

"Well, I have to be here, don't I? After all, I was wagered in this ridiculous challenge," Marie spat, glaring at him.

"Look, Marie-"

"Forget it, Lance," she said. "We're over."

"You do realize that when I win this thing I'll still get you, right?"

"What's your point? I'll just dump you again," Marie said crossly.

Lance just glared at her but turned around when he heard mild cheering from the other end of the playground, signalling that Summers and his posse had probably arrived.

"You ready?" Summers said.

Lance just glared at him. Dumped twice in two days. It wasn't helping his mood, especially after that short talk with his dad before he left.

"You start when midnight strikes-" Kurt Wagner, one of Scott's friends said, but was cut off when someone's wristwatch went off. "Start!"

Lance wasted no time as he charged at Summers with his fist. Summers easily dodged it as he veered to the side, giving a blow to Lance's stomach in retaliation. He grimaced slightly in pain, as he brought his foot up to kick him in the chest. Pryde gasped as she saw him coughing. Lance was about land another punch in his face when he whirled around and kicked him back firmly in the chest. Marie had half a mind to run over to him to make sure he was okay.

"That the best you got, Summers?" Lance choked.

"No," he said shortly before lunging forwards and gave Lance another punch in the jaw, causing him to fall back. A trickle of blood appeared at the edge of his lip.

"No, Pietro," Wanda said, holding her twin back. Nevertheless, the albino continued to struggle against his sister's hold.

Summers stood over Lance, thinking that the boy was unconscious. He looked up to smile at Marie but yelped when Lance flipped him over. Apparently, Lance was conscious, and was mega pissed.

But Summers was quick. He managed to kick and punch Lance twice. Clearly, Lance had underestimated his strength.

"I told that idiot," Tatiana muttered to Kitty and Alex. "I told him not to go. Now he's gonna end up embarrassing himself."

"I think he's embarrassed himself enough," Kitty said. "Scott, stop it!" She ran forwards in between them and unfortunately, was in the way of an incoming punch by her best friend. It got her on the cheek, and she gasped as was flung back towards Tatiana and Alex.

"I think," Marie said icily, as she stepped forwards, "it's time for you two to stop fighting. Now." She stalked off in a huff, while Jean did her best to glare at the both of them, both of who, were quite bloody.

Summers and Lance just stared at each other as the result of their actions finally sunk in.

To Scott, Kitty would most likely never talk to him again. Same goes to Alex and Tatiana, both of whom he was on good terms with. And at this rate, he wasn't going to get Marie after all. He had, after all, treated her as though she was a prize.

To Lance, he not only lost Marie, but most likely his popularity for not finishing Summers off. It didn't matter anyway. But looking at his opponent, he felt disgusted. He would never, ever dream of hitting his own best friend. Even if it was an accident. His eyes betrayed his mind as they sought out Katherine Pryde's hunched form, clutching her cheek as his sister and her boyfriend attempted to calm her down. She was cursing at everything and everyone she could think of. A thin trail of blood was issuing from her mouth.

Lance couldn't help but feel that he was slightly responsible for it.

_A/N: One word: Review!_


	4. Chapter 3

**Looking Through Your Eyes**

_Chapter 3_

Lance had limped his way home the previous night. Luckily, by then, his father had already went to bed. But when he went to breakfast the next morning, it was to meet the silence of all three of them in the kitchen: his father, his stepmother and his little half-brother. No doubt Allison had told the little tyke to not talk to him.

"Morning," he mumbled. His cheek was an array of purple and blue, bruises from the previous night. There was dry blood on his temple from when his head scraped the rough ground of the playground.

He was met with silence. Rolling his eyes and making an impatient sound, he silently ate his breakfast. But after a while, without the usual noise of Benedict, he abandoned his meal and went back to his room.

He hadn't been able to sleep right away. So during the time that he was wide awake, he got rid of every Marie related thing in his room, ranging from clothes, to mix CDs and pictures. He would drop it off today and probably get another verbal attack. Nothing he could do about that.

It was at eleven o'clock that he drove down to Marie's house. Allison had sent Benedict to a weekend day care centre while she and Rick were at work. Seeing as how Marie's front door was always unlocked, he walked in without knocking or ringing the doorbell.

He went to her room, carrying the box. When he opened her door, he was met with a plastic bag being thrown at him. He managed to duck at the last minute.

"Take your stuff and leave," she snapped, taking the box from him, mindful to not touch him.

Lance picked up the bag from the floor. "Marie, can we talk about this?"

"Just leave, Lance. I don't want to have anything to do with you ever again," Marie said. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but there was definitely a lot of scorn.

"I didn't mean to do it, Marie," he said. "I'm sorry." He turned to leave.

"Give me a few days to cool off, Lance," she said. "Maybe then I'll be willing to just be friends."

Lance nodded and left. He got into his jeep and wondered on where to go next. Maybe to the café and maybe apologize to Summers? He blanched at the thought.

He opted to just drive around for the rest of the morning and maybe have lunch somewhere in town. It was about half an hour later when he realized where he was driving to.

Katherine Pryde's neighbourhood.

He stopped in front of her house. Powder blue walls and a nice garden, complete with a white fence around it. It didn't look as though her parents were home. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to her door and rang the doorbell. She answered it a couple of seconds later.

"Can I help you?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Err," Lance started. He must have looked like an idiot, just standing there without a thing to say. "I – uh – I just sort of wanted to see if you were alright."

"Right," she said slowly. Her cheek, which was bruised when Summers had accidentally punched her last night, could be seen clearly. Lance felt himself boil with unexplainable rage. "Look, if you, like, don't have any real purpose, could you kindly leave?"

"I'm sorry," he blurted out.

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. About the fight last night. One of us could have done something to stop it. But we were both being idiots. And blinded by pride. No pun intended," he added hastily.

"Keep talking," she said, ignoring the last comment.

"Look, I'm not good at this kind of stuff, alright?" Lance said angrily, to cover up his embarrassment of apologizing to her.

She smirked at him, leaning against the door frame. "I, like, don't know why you're apologizing to me exactly, but yeah. So I guess apology accepted. That is, unless you screw it up again and we both know you will," she said. She groaned. A red convertible had parked itself behind Lance's jeep. "You should go."

Lance turned around and scowled. Summers, upon seeing him, scowled back.

"Um, I'll see you, I guess," he said. He turned around and walked down the steps, hitting his shoulder against Summers' on purpose.

"What do you want, Scott?" Lance heard her say angrily as he got into his jeep. He smirked. He had gotten his rival's best friend to forgive for something he wasn't quite sure of. For fighting that guy she called a best friend, perhaps? And yet, she couldn't forgive him. An evil glint in his eye, a plan started to form in his head.

* * *

"Hey, mom," Lance said. He had decided against lunch in town and had instead called Tatiana, who although was mad at him, asked him to come over anyway.

"I should be mad at you, but it's just so good to see you again," Helen said, hugging her son who was at least six inches taller than you.

"Sorry I haven't been visiting lately," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I've heard a lot of stories about what you're doing in school, Lance," Helen said disapprovingly as she went back into the kitchen. "But since I am not your legal parent," she said some obscenities under her breath and caused Lance's eyes to widen in surprise, "I can't do anything. Tatiana, Jules, Amber, Clay, lunch!"

"Get back here, Amber!" Tatiana's unmistakeable voice shouted.

A five-year-old girl with blonde hair shot past Lance and hid behind him just as Tatiana appeared at the doorway.

"Lance," she said coolly.

"Tat," he said, just as coolly.

Tatiana rolled her eyes. "Clay's on the phone with grandma," she informed.

Helen gave an exasperated sigh. She picked up the cordless phone in the kitchen and said, "Hi, mom. Clay has to come to lunch now. Yes, we'll visit next weekend, mother. Yes, I love you, too, mother. Clay come down now. Lance is here."

* * *

Every time Lance came to stay with his mom, it was always awkward. Here they were, growing up like any normal family should. Tatiana had accepted Clay Richards with open arms, although she had refused to take his last name so she was Tatiana Petros.

"Just got off the phone with dad," Tatiana said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Don't you have cheerleading practice?" he asked. He was lying down on the guest room bed where it had inevitably turned into his room.

"Cancelled. Jean has to go to Connecticut to visit her grandparents," she said. "Dad and Al not talking to you then?"

"Even Ben won't," he muttered.

"Ouch," she said. She flopped down onto the bed next to him. "I hate this, you know? I could never be mad at you for more than an hour. It sucks." Lance grinned wryly at her. "Remember that time when I was five? You cut off the hair off of all my dolls and I was mad at you but then dad told you to say sorry and you did and then I said that they looked better without hair anyway which was really kinda weird cuz now that I-"

"Shut up, Tat," Lance said. "Geez, could you like take a breath or something?"

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Lance? Are you happy?"

Lance thought about it for a moment. "I guess I am. No. That's a fucking lie. I'm not happy living with dad and Allison and Ben. Sure, Ben's alright, but what does it count if you're not happy right? I miss all those times when were younger Tat. You know, me and you, you and me, us against the world. Just the two of us. I'd give anything to go back to that. But unfortunately…"

"Yeah," Tatiana agreed. "I mean, sure, Juliana and Amber Lyn are the absolute sweetest, if not sickeningly sweet, but they're nothing compared to my empty-headed, protective, idiotic brother."

"Yea – hey!"

Tatiana laughed at him and he couldn't help but join in the laughter.

* * *

The weekend pretty much passed by uneventfully. Lance had stayed at home while Allison, Rick and Benedict went out for a family picnic. He had watched DVDs and played video games all day.

Monday finally came and unfortunately for him, Geometry was his first class. The results of his test last Friday. And as if having the stepmom on his case wasn't bad enough, Hornberry had spent ten minutes lecturing him in front of the class. He was assigned a tutor with a session to start that same afternoon. He wondered who he would get when the teacher said, "Give this to Katherine Pryde during fourth period. She should be at the Counsellor's office."

Katherine Pryde? Pryde, of all people! But then again, this just happened to make his plan work a lot easier.

"Sure, Mrs Hornberyy," he said and left the classroom, staring dismally at his test paper and the slip. At least his tutor wouldn't be a glasses-wearing, spotty geek.

Fourth period came and he went to the Counsellor's office which just happened to be on the other side of the school. There he found her rearranging folders in one of the file cabinets. He knocked on the door awkwardly and quickly. He didn't want to be late for History again. Too bad he couldn't skip it like he used to do with Marie.

"Can I help you?" she said when she noticed him.

Lance almost felt a sense of déjà vu taking over him. "I hope so. You're my tutor," he said.

"Give me that," she said, snatching the pink slip from his grip. Sure enough, the familiar handwriting of Mrs Hornberry, the Geometry teacher was there. She had gotten about ten slips like these in the past two months or so.

"She wants us to start this afternoon," he said.

"I read it on the slip," she said. She read it over with a hard expression on her face. "Forget it. I'll look for someone else to do it."

Lance watched her go away disbelievingly.

* * *

Despite his better judgement, he went to Mrs Summers' café after school to wait for Kitty in hopes that she would change her mind about tutoring him. He knew she had cheering practice after school and was very surprised to find her there, wiping tables.

"Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" he asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a hole somewhere?" she asked.

"Okay. Why so hostile? We were fine last Saturday," he said, attempting to follow her to the back.

"First of all," she said sternly, "there is no _we_. Second of all, what are you doing here?"

"I was gonna wait and pretty much annoy you until you give in and become my tutor when you get back from practice. But since you're here-"

"I already told you, Lance," she said, "I'm not helping you. And I'm sorry about that. I mean, why would you want me to willingly become your tutor? I'm best friends with Scott Summers."

He fidgeted slightly. "Well, we don't have to tell him you're tutoring me."

"Order something," Kitty said quickly, behind the counter.

"What?"

"Order something," she repeated.

"What are you-"

"One mocha? Coming right up," she said, busying herself with the coffee-maker machine. When she finished making the coffee five minutes later, she turned back to him with a smile on her face. "That'll be $2.35. Oh, hey, Scott! Just got back from practice?"

"Hey," he nodded at her. "What're you doing here?" he sneered at Lance.

"Chill. I'm just buying mocha. Heard it's the best in town," he said. He took out some dollar bills and passed them to Kitty who handed him a receipt. He nodded at the pair before leaving the café, turning the piece of paper in his hand over to find that Kitty had written him a message.

_Meet me at Meadowhill Park. 6 o'clock. Don't be late. – K. Pryde_

He smiled to himself as he made his way to his jeep.

* * *

"I'm heading out!" Lance yelled as 6 o'clock steadily neared. It was about a fifteen-minute drive from his house to Meadowhill Park and he was really running late.

"What do you mean you're heading out? Dinner's about to be served," Allison said indignantly. Ever since the fight incident last Friday, she had started acting differently towards him.

Lance rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna go and fight Scott Summers again, for your info, Al. I have a tutoring session to get to," he said.

"This late?" she asked incredulously.

"Mommy, mommy! Look at the picture I drawed!" Benedict said, holding up a piece of paper. On it were four figures that closely resembled Lance, himself, Allison and Rick. The sun was in the shape of a crooked heart.

"That's really nice, sweetheart," Allison cooed. She fixed a glare on her stepson. "Here's an idea. How about you take Benedict with you," Lance started protesting at this and unfortunately had to refrain from cursing because of Benedict's presence, "so that your father and I can have a romantic dinner?"

"Whatever," he muttered and took a hold of Benedict's tiny hand in his and practically drug him out the door.

* * *

"Ben, I'm gonna leave you at Marie's place alright? Will that be okay?" Lance asked. He couldn't explain to himself why he didn't want his half-brother to be there during his first tutoring session with Kitty Pryde.

"Okay, Lance!" he said, smiling and humming a tune that sounded vaguely like 'London bridge is falling down'.

About five minutes later, Lance was holding onto Benedict's hand with the other knocking on the door incessantly. The door opened a couple of seconds later. Marie was wearing a green shirt and a pair of black pants and had a pencil on her ear.

"Can I help you?"

Lance cursed silently. He seemed to be getting that question a lot.

"Um, yeah, I was wondering if you could watch Ben for a couple of hours for me?" he asked quickly.

"Hi, Mawie!" Benedict said.

"Uh, sure, I guess," she said.

"Thanks. I'll be back in about an hour," he said.

"Date?"

"No," he said. "Tutoring."

"Kitty Pryde?"

Lance contemplated the question. How on earth did she find out? He nodded. "Yeah, her."

* * *

"You're late," were the first words Lance heard as he walked over to where the wooden benches and tables were located. He had stopped at a fast food joint to buy some food.

"Brought food," he said, ignoring her statement. "And I sorta had to drop Ben off at Marie's." He fidgeted slightly as he mentioned his ex's name.

"I don't eat meat," Kitty said upon noticing the paperbag he had in his hand. "I'm Jew."

"Oh," Lance said, feeling slightly awkward. He had bought her a double cheese burger. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," she said. "I already ate anyway." She opened up a textbook. "Well? Like, what are you waiting for? Take a seat." Feeling his face become warm, he took a seat across from her. "See this? This is Geometry."

"I kinda figured," he said. He pointed towards the first word on the page. "Says right there, see? _Geometry_."

"Okay, you know what? If you're not going to be totally serious about this I might as well leave right now. I'm, like, already risking a lot by not working tonight. Scott got suspicious before I left," she said, putting the book and pencil down. He just stared at her. "You know what, forget it. This was a waste of time." She started to pack things up.

"No, Kitty, wait," he said. "Can we try again?"

She just looked at him with a critical eye. "Why? So you can pull your bullshit on me? You know, I'm not gonna fall for that whole rebel, bad boy thing you've got going on. I've known you since pre-K, we've been taking virtually all of the same classes together, and you have never spoken to me, not once. Saturday was pretty much the first time.

"But despite that, I can see the way you treat Scott ever since he moved here. And pretty much every other person in Northbrook. And every time I do, I see spite and arrogance. If you think you can pull some charm on me, like, forget it. 'Cause it's not going to work," she finished. "Can we get started?"

He nodded. "I didn't mean to rile you up."

"Well, you did. But forget about it, alright? We have fifty-four minutes left," she said. "Page 75." She turned the book so that it faced him.

And as the time went by, Lance felt himself warm up to her, despite her cold exterior towards him.

* * *

"Do you need a ride home?" Lance asked after the session was over.

"No, it's alright. Scott's picking me up," Kitty said.

"So, tutor, when's the next session?" he asked. He threw his things into the backseat of his jeep.

"How about Wednesday at 5?" she suggested.

"Any time's fine with me," he said. He narrowed his eyes at an incoming car. However, it wasn't the red convertible that belonged to the guy he hated. "Sure you don't want me to drop you off?"

"I'll be fine," she said.

"Well, see you around then," he said and drove off, leaving the pretty brunette to fend for herself.

When he reached Marie's house, it was to find the toddler sleeping against the armrest of the couch as Marie sat at the other end, sketching him. There were a lot of details to it too, to reflect what she thought about him.

"Am I disturbing something?" Lance asked.

Marie jumped slightly and turned around. "No, no you weren't," she said. She reached over and nudged Ben lightly. "Benny, wake up, Lance is here."

"I don't wanna go to day care!" he whined.

Marie smiled softly at him. "Come on, kiddo. Your big brother's here," she said. Benedict finally woke up after about ten minutes of coaxing. "You know," she said as Benedict went to the kitchen to wash his hands, "just for the record, I'm still mad at you, and I'm only doing this because I love Benedict too much."

Lance just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. He already had dinner right?" Marie nodded. "Well, we better get going now. Ben, come on, let's go home."

"Bye, bye, Mawie!" Benedict said, smiling toothily at her.

"Bye, bye, Benny," she said back, pinching his cheek lightly.

During the ride back home, Lance said to Benedict, "This is going to be between me and you, alright, Ben? Don't tell mommy or daddy that you were at Marie's tonight, alright, kiddo?"

"Okay, Lance!" Benedict agreed, although he didn't quite understand why exactly.

Lance smiled. Tomorrow was a brand new day.

_A/N: I'm pooped. My cousins' wedding is this Sunday and unfortunately I've got a task to do. Pretty much busy for the next few nights. Anyways, don't forget to review!_


	5. Chapter 4

**Looking Through Your Eyes**

_Chapter 4_

Marie woke up as usual at 7.00am, took a shower and got dressed. After that, she'd go to the kitchen to make herself breakfast or do it with her mother whenever she was around. Ever since her father's death four years ago, her mother had travelled around, staying home for a few times a year. The only reason why Marie stayed was because her mother wanted her to get a good education.

At 8.15am, Lance would already be waiting for her at her driveway. But seeing as how they broke up last weekend, she would have to go to school on her own.

She had always been outraged by his jealousy over Scott Summers but had ignored it, in fear of striking up a theory in Lance's clouded mind that she returned the Summers boy's affections.

In truth, she did.

It was three months ago and about five months after Lance had found out Scott had a crush on her. Marie was on the way back from visiting her aunt across town when her car broke down. Coincidentally, Scott was also returning from where she had been and had offered her a ride home after Lance had refused to drive for forty-five minutes just to pick her up. An argument had naturally ensued when she had returned.

So after breakfast, when she was just about to leave for school, she was surprised to find Scott Summers standing at the front-door, a fist raised to knock on the door.

"Scott, hey. What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Um," he said nervously. "Just thought you might want a ride?"

Marie thought about it. If Lance saw her with him, just three days after their break up, he would freak.

"Sure. Why not?" she said. She stuffed her car keys into her pocket and followed Scott towards his convertible. She felt her face flush as he opened the door for her. He got into his side and drove off to school.

X-X

"Aren't you guys, like, supposed to be gone by now?" Kitty asked when she walked into the kitchen to find her parents eating breakfast in a rush.

"Yes, well, someone forgot to set the alarm," Carmen Pryde said, glaring at his wife while he attempted to drink a cup of steaming hot coffee.

"Right, put all the blame on me," Theresa Pryde said.

"Mom, dad, no fighting. Do I have to separate you two?" Kitty said with a smile on her face as she slipped two pieces of bread into the toaster.

"Bye, dear, will you be alright?" Theresa said, hugging her daughter and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Mom, I'm seventeen. I'm sure I'm, like, totally capable of going to school on my own," she said, rolling her eyes. "Bye, daddy. Say hi to grandpa for me."

"Bye, sweetheart. We wish we could bring you with us, but you've got-" Carmen started.

"-school, tutoring and my job at the café. Oh, and cheerleading, which I quit by the way," Kitty finished. "I'll be fine, daddy. I've been going to school on my own for four years now," she said with a teasing tone.

"Yes, but isn't Scott supposed to-" It seemed as though her father had temporarily forgotten that he was mad at the eldest Summers boy.

"Scott's a little busy this morning. I'll be fine. Now go! You're going to miss your flight," Kitty said, practically shooing her parents out the door while simultaneously buttering her toast. (_A/N: I do that! Haha.)_

"Now-"

"Emergency numbers are on the fridge, the rules are in the first drawer in the hallway closet, and no parties, no getting drunk and especially no inviting boys into my room," Kitty said once more. "Daddy, I'll be fine. Don't worry. You too, Mom. I want this vacation to be stress-free for you." Her parents gave her a look as they got into the taxi that had arrived about fifteen minutes earlier. "You know, while, like, stopping by Grandpa and Grandpa on the way. I love you!"

"We love you, too!" The taxi drove off and Kitty turned around to re-enter her house.

As she ate breakfast and watched the morning news, her mind drifted back to the tutoring session with Lance Alvers yesterday. In all her years of knowing and growing up with him in Northbrook, last Saturday had pretty much been the first time he had talked to her in years. Sure, in kindergarten he had spoken to her. As well as pull on her ponytail during recess and frequently stole her lunch. It had been Scott, who just also happened to be the new kid on the block, who had helped her and after that, they pretty much became best friends and were soon inseparable. Saturday had marked the first time that Lance Alvers had spoken to her civilly.

And she found that she liked the Lance Alvers who spoke to her civilly. Surprisingly, he was a good conversationalist and she guessed they had his father's business dinners at their place to thank. Her father had been invited quite a few times, since he was a well-known banker.

With a sigh, Kitty realised that Lance Alvers would probably never reciprocate her feelings. Guys like him only liked girls like the head cheerleader, Jean Grey, and the second-in-command, Marie Darkholme. But what did she know anyway? Well, one thing she knew anyway, her feelings towards the bad boy was still only at a low level, which she was very thankful for. And another thing she knew, Scott must never, ever find out that she did, indeed, like him.

X-X

When Lance arrived at school, it was to see Marie getting out of Scott Summer's car. Scott Summers put an arm around Marie and she didn't even do a thing to stop him. He felt himself fume slightly. Only three days and she was already hooking up with someone else? And with Scott Summers! He always did have a feeling that Marie liked Summers as much as he liked her. Even now, it kind of irked him. But it did kind of bring comfort to him, after a while, when her face showed, despite being very little, signs of displeasure.

"Hey Lance!"

He turned around and found the vibrant redhead hurrying up to him, her hair flying behind her as she attempted to walk as fast as she could without running.

"Oh, hey Jean," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What's up?"

"Did you hear Marie and Scott came to school together?" she asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She wasn't one to be subtle.

"I didn't hear, Grey. I saw," he said.

"Yea, well, Scott Summers isn't exactly one to wait," she huffed.

"Don't tell me _you_ like him!" Lance laughed, meaning it as a joke. But when her face flushed slightly, he laughed even harder as they walked into the school. "You do like him! Ugh, that's absolutely pathetic!"

"Hey! Not every single girl in this school has to be helplessly in love with you, you know," she said. "Between you and Scott, he is so much better looking than you."

"I'll pretend that you never said that," Lance declared. "Hey – uh – weren't you guys supposed to have practice yesterday?"

"Duh! Of course! We have practice everyday after school," Jean answered. "Why?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why Kitty was at Summers' café when she was supposed to be at practice," he said absentmindedly. When the words he had said finally registered in his brain, his eyes widened slightly. "I mean, not that I was-"

"Is there something going on between you and Kitty Pryde that I should know about?" When Lance remained silent, she said instead, "Well, anyway, since you're so interested in knowing, she quit the squad. Said she was taking up too much between tutoring people and her job at the café and cheerleading, of course. Not that I blame her anyway. She's such a geek."

Lance felt himself become slightly angry and he almost envisioned what Jean Grey's body would look like with bruises and scratches. Just when he was about to say something, Jean said, "Oh, hey, this is my first class. I'll see ya around, Superstar."

"I told you not to call me Superstar!" he said after her. He shook his head and made his way towards English.

X-X

Jean Grey was perfect. Pretty much anyway. And she knew it. In her perfect little world, she was beautiful, she was the head cheerleader, she attended more clubs than the average student and practically every boy wanted to date her. Too bad that was all in her head half of the time.

Recently, she had set her sights on Scott Summers, point guard of the basketball varsity team. With that mahogany coloured hair and baby blue eyes and very smooth skin, he was, in one word she summed, hot.

Too bad he was practically in love with her best friend. And she knew that her best friend pretty much returned the feelings. She never actually heard her best friend say it, but she could just tell. Especially with the way she always defended him whenever Lance said something bad about him. They were both just too chicken to do anything about.

Well, if they were too chicken, there was no reason for her to not pursue Scott Summers. And pursue him she did.

She knew she was pretty much betraying Marie, but at the moment she wasn't thinking of her. She was thinking of herself and what she wanted. She knew she had a reputation of pretty much being a slut, but she could care less. It was high school. The time to live life the fullest before some higher power pushed the lowers into college and all childlike innocence was taken away from them.

Besides, it wasn't like her parents were around much anyway. They were always travelling to some European or Asian country or another. They left her pretty much alone at home.

So she decided during first period. During practice with the basketball team later on after school, she would tell Marie that she was into Scott Summers, and see her reaction. If all went well, she would have Scott Summers all to herself.

It was too bad that she was too self-centred to care that it would probably destroy her close friendship with her one and only best friend.

X-X

It was after school and it was cheerleading practice. They were having it in the auditorium with the basketball team. As they went on with practice while the cheerleaders cheered them on (_A/N: Yeah, like duh. That's what they do._), Jean pulled Marie a little away from the rest of the squad while still shaking their pompoms.

"You know what I think?" Jean started.

"What?" Marie said.

"I think Tutor Girl-"

"Wait, who's Tutor Girl?"

"Kitty Pryde, ex-member of the squad," Jean scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I think Tutor Girl likes Scott, don't you think?"

Marie stared at Jean as though she had sprouted another head. "Jean, Kitty and Scott have been best friends since he first moved here."

"Who says best friends aren't a good foundation for a healthy and lasting relationship?" Jean asked. "Anyway, I think Tutor Girl likes Scott, but thing is, I know I like Scott Summers, and I don't know who the hell you like. And I think I'm pretty sure Marietta likes that Evan guy but that's besides the point."

Marie had frozen when Jean had said she liked Scott Summers during her rant.

"You know, I spoke to Lance this morning," the vibrant redhead continued.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Jean said, still shaking her pompoms while looking at her auburn haired friend from the corner of her eyes. Yep, her reaction showed it all. She was so totally into Scott Summers. "Anyway, he told me that he's really, really sorry and that he'd like another chance with you. You know, get back together and continue being in love with you."

Okay, so maybe it was an exaggerated lie.

"In love? With me? You're kidding right? All our relationship was about the making out and the sex and the publicity. Sure, we cared about each other and all, but it was strictly that," Marie said, raising an eyebrow. She almost thought that Jean was lying to her. But she was her best friend. And besides, Lance _had_ shown that he might've been in love with her.

"Oh, he told me he loves you, alright," Jean said, smirking inwardly. _This is going too well_, she thought. "He wants to talk to you tonight actually at Mrs Summers' café." She looked at Marie with a solemn look. "He really wanted you to go, Marie."

Marie was silent for a moment. "Fine. I'll go see him later."

"He'll be there at six, or maybe earlier. He wasn't sure," Jean said with a smirk, unaware that Tatiana had been listening in on the conversation.

X-X

Lance raised an eyebrow when he checked the caller ID on his cell phone. He was at home, thankfully alone, and was in his room, his stereo on at full blast.

He lowered the volume and answered the phone and was quite surprised to hear the bubbly redhead's voice on the other end of the line. "Jean? How'd you get my number?"

"Don't act so surprise now, Lance. Anyways, I was calling to tell you that I talked to Marie during practice."

"So?" Lance rummaged around on his messy tabletop for a piece of paper. He folded it into an aeroplane and threw it across the room, ignoring the fact that that was his History homework.

"She told me she misses you. Like, completely."

"If she misses me then why was she hanging around Summers?"

"Isn't it obvious? She was trying to make you jealous so you would take her back. The way she talked about you just now, Lance," she gave a dramatic sigh, "it was almost as though she was very much in love."

Lance snorted. "That's a very low chance, Grey," he said, reaching for another paper and making it into another paper aeroplane. "I mean, me and Marie, what we pretty much did was make out all the time. Sure, there was a little bonding between her and Ben, but that was pretty much the only thing we had in common. Oh, and the fact that we're both popular."

It was Jean's turn to snort. "Right. Anyway, she wants to meet you at Mrs Summers' café at a quarter to six. She really wants to get back together with you, Lance. She misses you a whole lot."

Lance sighed and thought it over. It didn't seem like a bad idea to maybe get back together with Marie. Maybe getting back together with the Southern beauty (she had originated from there but her accent had long since disappeared) would be much better. Maybe, just maybe, it'll help him forget about a certain blue-eyed brunette.

X-X

Kitty had been taking orders and making coffee all day since she left school at four. Her neat ponytail was in disarray as she attempted to make cappuccino and black coffee at the same time. Thankfully, Scott had come back from practice and had helped her out.

When the bell at the top of the door tinkled, she looked up and her breath was caught in her throat. Lance Alvers had walked in and was making his way to a table in a far corner.

"What is he doing here?" Scott sneered.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "He has every right to be here, Scott. It's not like you have a court order against him coming here," she said, taking a pad and pen and making her way over to Lance, leaving Scott with his mouth wide open. "Hey there, what can I get you?"

"Huh? Oh, hey Pryde," Lance said, slouching against his chair.

"Like, it's not gonna hurt you to call me 'Kitty', you know. All my friends do," she said.

"I wasn't under the impression that we were friends," he said, but grinned at her nonetheless.

"Yea, well," she said, her cheeks turning pink slightly, "What can I get you?"

"Just a mocha please," he said. "Um, make that two."

"Coming right up," she said and made her way back to the coffee maker machine.

"I don't see why you're so nice to him," Scott said at once when she returned. "Have you completely forgotten that he used to pull on your ponytail during kindergarten?"

"You weren't even there, Scott. Well, for the last half of the year you were, but the first half you weren't."

"And I heard a lot of horror stories from you, Kitty, about Alvers' escapades."

"Oh, grow up, Scott. Get over it, okay? This whole rivalry thing you guys gave got going on is ridiculous. Including that grudge against him," she said. She walked over to Lance with his mocha. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he said, nodding at her.

"So what're you doing here?"

"Oh, um, I'm meeting Marie," he muttered.

"I thought you guys broke up?" she asked immediately. She clapped her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes, feeling her face turn very hot. "I'm so sorry, Lance. That was rude."

"No, no, it's alright," he said.

"Anyway, I should get back to work," she said and went back to the counter just as Marie entered the café.

X-X

Marie found Lance at the café at exactly six and he was just sitting there, trying to avoid her eyes. She felt herself flush as she made her way towards him.

"Hey, Lance," she said awkwardly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a mane of red hair enter the café and made her towards the counter.

"Marie, hey. Um, have a seat," he said, gesturing towards the seat across from him. She sat down. "Uh, Jean told me you wanted to talk to me."

"What! That's what she told me," Marie said, an incredulous look on her face. In her head, she began to calculate the situation. "By any chance did she tell you that I was in love with you, and that I missed you, and that I wanted you back?"

"Yea. Why?"

"Because what she said was a big fat lie."

X-X

"Hey, Superstar, Kitty," Jean said as soon as she reached the counter. She plastered a smile on her face.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Jean," Kitty said. "Do you want anything?"

"Just a latte, thanks," she said.

Kitty nudged Scott, who was reading a book, with her foot. "What?" he asked. The brunette just jerked her head at the redhead's direction. "Hey, Jean. What brings you here?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought I could use a latte," she said casually, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Hey, Scott, did you know Marie's here?"

"She is?" She fumed silently as she saw his eyes light up excitedly. His head craned to look for her.

"Uhuh," Jean said, nodding. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "She's trying to get back together with her boyfriend."

"What?" Scott frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Just this morning they had went to school together. _And_ he had gotten a kiss on the cheek from her for carrying her books.

Behind him, as she was making Jean's latte, Kitty felt her heart sink. She was right. Lance would never return her feelings because he was still into his old girlfriend. And at that moment, he was in the process of getting back together with her.

Something was wrong about the picture. Because Kitty felt, that it should have been her, who Lance was getting together with.

X-X

"Come on," Marie said, getting up form her seat and ignored her cup of mocha.

Lance hurriedly stood up and went after her, nearly spilling his drink in the process. He cursed under his breath as he weaved his way through tables. He stopped a bit behind Marie who was glaring at Jean.

"I can't believe you tried to set us up," Marie snapped at Jean, fury in her eyes.

"It's not that big of a deal, Marie," Jean said. "I mean, it _is_ kind of obvious that you guys want to be together. The both of you have, like, been together for years now. Why end it now? Oh, that's right, you're into someone new." She stepped back away from her slightly. "Go on, Marie, show us how you really feel about him."

Marie stood her ground. She glared at Jean but nevertheless, she strode towards the back where Kitty attempted to stop her. She sidestepped Kitty, grabbed the front of Scott's shirt and planted her lips firmly on his.

X-X

Jean scowled as she held her cup in her hand. She glanced over at Lance and saw him glance away, an almost embarrassed look on his face. He had his hands shoved into his pants. She glanced the other way and saw Kitty looking at Lance with something akin to longing in her eyes. There also seemed to be a tiny level of pain. It looked like as though Lance really did want Marie back.

But then, the gears in her head started turning. Maybe if she could set Lance and Kitty up? That would be interesting.

X-X

Mrs Summers entered the main room and was shocked to find her son making a very public display of affection in her café. She scowled when she realised no one was attempting to stop them.

"Alright, Scott, as much as it is entertaining to watch you make out with Marie," Kitty started, "I think you should take this somewhere else." She turned and saw Mrs Summers standing there. "Oh, hey Mrs Summers," she said sheepishly. "I'm, like, just gonna go and clean some tables." She grabbed a cloth and basin and went over to the many tables.

Marie and Scott parted, their faces flushed and breathing heavily.

"Mom, you don't mind if I-"

"Oh, go!"

Marie and Scott held hands and exited the café, leaving a fuming Jean, a cleaning Kitty, a furious Mom, and a confused Lance behind.

_A/N: Hope that was up to scratch. I haven't exactly been in the writing mood especially since it's the holidays and I just went nuts at the DVD store. I was giving myself a movie marathon as a congrats for not failing my overall average. Don't forget to press the 'Go' button at the bottom of the page and review!_


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